Paper Citing NAMD - Abstract
Kantcheva, Adriana K.; Quick, Matthias; Shi, Lei; Winther, Anne-Marie Lund; Stolzenberg, Sebastian; Weinstein, Harel; Javitch, Jonathan A.; Nissen, Poul
Chloride binding site of neurotransmitter sodium symporters
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 110:8489-8494, MAY 21 2013
Neurotransmitter: sodium symporters (NSSs) play a critical role in signaling by reuptake of neurotransmitters. Eukaryotic NSSs are chloride-dependent, whereas prokaryotic NSS homologs like LeuT are chloride-independent but contain an acidic residue (Glu290 in LeuT) at a site where eukaryotic NSSs have a serine. The LeuT-E290S mutant displays chloride-dependent activity. We show that, in LeuT-E290S cocrystallized with bromide or chloride, the anion is co-ordinated by side chain hydroxyls from Tyr47, Ser290, and Thr254 and the side chain amide of Gln250. The bound anion and the nearby sodium ion in the Na1 site organize a connection between their coordinating residues and the extracellular gate of LeuT through a continuous H-bond network. The specific insights from the structures, combined with results from substrate binding studies and molecular dynamics simulations, reveal an anion-dependent occlusion mechanism for NSS and shed light on the functional role of chloride binding.
